The Riding Habit.
Supporting & Elevating the Equestrian Community through a different way to understand the horse.
Rooted in equine behaviour, thoughtful horsemanship, & a deep respect for the individuality of every horse, The Riding Habit offers a quiet place for horses & their people to develop with confidence, understanding, & purpose.
From horse-centred boarding & grassroots development to personalized training & mentorship, our approach begins with the horse.
Find Your Place.
Where Horses Come First
For owners seeking thoughtful, individualized care rooted in their horse's natural needs.
Where Confidence Begins
For young & developing horses deserving of a patient, behaviour-informed beginning & training process.
Riders Seeking Mentorship
For independent horse people seeking deeper understanding, confidence, & connection.
Grassroots Development.
Small habits scaffold into major breakthroughs.
Our Mission
DWF, in support of local trainers & their programs, hosts short-term support & clinics for young horses & developing riders to build confidence & restore horse–rider connection.
We focus on enhancing each horse’s natural ability—encouraging them to become willing & confident partners in the journey toward excellence no matter your discipline of choice.
For people who know there is more…
Are you…
Looking for greater clarity in your communication, a more willing partnership, or a thoughtful foundation for your young horse?
Seeking a place where learning isn't measured by pressure or timelines, but by understanding, confidence, & the quality of the relationship you're building?
We believe meaningful progress begins with listening to the horse.
Welcome to The Riding Habit.
Supporting independent horse people & developing partnerships through individualized, behaviour-informed care, training, & mentorship.
We are rooted in grace, science, & true partnership that supports performance.
We support:
• Excellence through wisdom & communication, not shortcuts.
• Training that honours the horse’s voice.
• Raising or riding young warmbloods with future sport or sale in mind.
This is not a school program. We do not offer horses for lessons. This is a highly specialized & personalized development atmosphere for existing partnerships.
We offer supportive development opportunities for:
• Trainers & their programs.
• Competing athletes seeking to elevate their performance with supplemental training.
• Riders looking to enhance feel, timing, & clarity at a high level.
• Breeders who want to advance their prospects for the sport or market.
We offer a limited number of spaces.
The People Behind the Philosophy.
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✨ Classical dressage, equitation, & conscious horsemanship
✨ Professional National Rider
My passion is driven by the horse. I hope to share this passion & my 15 years experience with the DWF community by giving them a home to elevate their partnerships & consequently, their riding.
“I imported a few high quality show jumpers during my junior career. I got very lucky with one & the other taught me how pressure & stress affects them in some training environments. We bought her as a 1.4m+ horse but she would not jump over 1m. It was a challenging journey making her sound mind & body. Through addressing her pain & mistrust I was able to enjoy some of the best rounds of my life with her in the 1.35m. She is now happily retired on our farm & has given use three beautiful foals. 🤍 (Her & I are pictured together above).
I met Paul last summer. I was going to quit riding. There was some ceiling I had reached that I couldn’t surpass & I was frustrated. Paul introduced a whole new world to me, through the TRT method & his own findings, I elevated the relationships with my horses by better listening & communicating clearly to them.
Together we have worked with what some may call “hard horses”, & gave them new opportunities to have meaningful relationships with people. We both have a few young stock that we are just enjoying the process with. We give horses trauma free foundations so they can be equipped to live in our worlds. 🤍”
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✨Founder of Skystone Farms
✨ Equine Canada certified english jump instructor
✨ World Cup Qualifier
Leadership can't exist without a willing follower. In order for us to cultivate willing participation in our horses we need to work with their agency. Understanding Learning Theory and applying it to the empirical evidence of 40 years working with horses informs our methods.
Horse Board.
Near Cochrane, Alberta.
Priceless
Community & Mentor Support
A community that offers peer-to-peer mentorship, thoughtful conversation & guidance, shared knowledge & support for trainers, riders & their equine partners.
$785/horse/month
Paradise Boarding Package
Includes all you can eat hay, 50 × 100 ft outdoor paddock, salt blocks, facility access, & wifi.
Starting at $100+/horse/person
Equine & Rider Wellness
Onsite farrier, massage, reiki, chiropractic & barefoot trimming offerings for your horse & onsite massage for yourself.
Why We Love DWF.
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![Mountains, a lake, and forest under a sky with pink and blue clouds at sunset.]()
Unbeatable Location.
20 minutes to West Bragg & Kananaskis country. 30 minutes to Downtown Calgary. 40 minutes to Canmore.
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![Open outdoor horse racing or track arena with circular dirt track, green grass on the sides, a white building, trees, and power lines in the distance under a bright blue sky with scattered white clouds.]()
Facility Access.
Enjoy your choice of our Indoor (80ft x 250ft) & outdoor (180ft x 260ft) arenas in a quiet atmosphere. Washrooms, wash bays, tack up stalls, & wifi.
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![A rainbow arching across a partly cloudy sky over a rural field with hay bales, small trees, and a wooden fence.]()
Onsite Camping.
RV hook ups giving the ability to camp with your horse where they get to feel comfortable too.
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![Mountains with snow-capped peaks at sunrise or sunset, with the moon visible in the clear sky.]()
Wellness, Massage, & Chiropractic Services
Passionate onsite certified reiki, massage, hoof & chiro practitioners.
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![Community]()
Community
A collective who share the hunger to learn from & enjoy their horses in a peaceful environment.
FAQs.
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Our ethological approach to boarding is informed by an animal's natural behaviours and needs.
We provide daily visual checks, feeding, & paddock management on a daily basis. -
We are 12 minutes to main street Cochrane.
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DWF requires a deposit equal to first months board to reserve your paddock.
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DWF has 24 hour surveillance & onsite personnel.
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We have 2 half and 1 full bath on site. There is a shower available.
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We have a large lot stationed at the front East side of the barn and another lot on the North side.
Trucks + trailers can drive around the barn to unload on the West end or can unload straight into their designated paddock. They would then return to the East side of the barn to unhook.
Regular traffic can park on the East side of the facility. -
The hours of operation are within 9 am to 5 pm.
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Check out this impressive list thats all in our back yard!
Find us.
42133 Township Road 252